The local government of Muntinlupa begun its targeted COVID-19 mass testing on Monday, April 13, starting with persons under investigation (PUI) and will begin confinement of confirmed cases.

Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dra. Teresa Tuliao said five PUIs were initially transported to a field testing area located at the local health office by Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERT) and DRRMO personnel for the collection of swab samples.

Swab booths are being used by CHO personnel during the targeted mass testing to lessen the exposure of health workers to possible COVID-19 patients.

Tuliao said the Muntinlupa City partnered with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for the processing of samples. The local health officer said the results will be released three to four days after testing.

“Initially, we are testing city residents showing flu-like symptoms and those who are suspected cases of COVID-19. For those who will test positive, we will subject them for confinement and referral to isolation site in Ospital ng Muntinlupa,” Tuliao added.

Confirmed cases will be registered to PhilHealth for medical assistance. While those who will test negative will be allowed to go home, but are still required to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days.

Muntinlupa City aims to test all 180 persons under investigation (PUIs) in Muntinlupa until April 17. The City Government recently received 240 test kits from the Department of Health (DOH) and will augment the testing conducted by RITM.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi said that through mass testing, the local government would be able to assess the impact of COVID-19 transmission in the city and help identify necessary interventions.

“We need a more aggressive approach such as the early detection of a COVID-19 infected person to contain the spread of the virus. This localized targeted mass testing is critical in the determination of medical assistance to be administered to our residents and identification of measures to be implemented by the local government,” Fresnedi said.

While mass testing is ongoing in Muntinlupa, barangay health workers continue to daily monitor reported cases of PUI and PUM in the communities and distribute vitamins and medicines for those with underlying conditions.

As of April 12, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 77 confirmed cases in Muntinlupa with 13 deaths and 13 recovered cases. According to CHO, there are 215 persons under monitoring (PUM) and 180 patients under investigation (PUI). While confirmed COVID-19 rises in the city, the number of cleared cases also improve with over 533 cleared PUM and 229 cleared PUI.

For concerns related to community quarantine and COVID-19 testing, Muntinlupa City residents may reach hotline nos. 0977-240-5217 or 0977-240-5218.

A medical staff from Muntinlupa City Health Office performs swab collection as the city starts its targeted COVID-19 mass testing.

Muntinlupa City Health Office installs a field testing area where local health office personnel collect swab samples from PUIs during the city’s targeted COVID-19 mass testing.